Muhlenberg's Amanda Frees wins a silver medal in the 500 free and helps the Muhls claim their fifth District 3-AA team title this decade.

Sure, the Muhlenberg girls held a big lead going into the second day of the District 3-AA Championships.

With their depth, the Muhls were on track for a second straight team championship.

But first, they had to get through the final five events.

“We were very confident,” senior Amanda Frees said. “We knew we were ahead by 70 points, but it wasn’t over yet. It’s a long day, but we kept our poise and knew we could do it.”

And they did.

Muhlenberg won its fifth team title this decade, putting an exclamation point on it by winning the 400-yard freestyle relay Saturday at the Cumberland Valley High natatorium.

The team of Frees, Kelly Geras, Aimee Snyder and Jena Marrinucci touched the wall in 3:37.44.

The Muhls finished with 355.5 points, 106 ahead of runner-up Trinity, and accumulated them by placing swimmers on the medal stand in eight of 11 events over the two days.

A good example was the 500 free. The Muhls scored 41 points as Frees was second, Geras fourth and Ashley Bauer 12th.

“That was definitely our goal,” Frees said. “We wanted to get many people to districts so we could score as many points as we could.”

Berks swimmers also took home two golds in individual events. Conrad Weiser’s Courey Schaefer and Muhlenberg’s Zach Chow won their respective 100 free races.

The 400 free relay was tight as Trinity stayed right behind the Muhls for the first 300 yards. On the anchor leg, it looked like the Shamrocks’ Steph Kinsey was catching up to Marrinucci, but the senior kept her pace and won by .20 seconds.

“It was really exciting,” Frees said. “We never knew what would happen, it was nerve wracking.

“But we knew that Jena would pull it out for us.”

As is the norm for sprint events, Schaefer and Chow had close races, too.

Schaefer, who was fourth in the 100 last year, raced to a finish of 52.64, just .29 ahead of Schuylkill Valley’s Alli Pucul, and .58 ahead of defending champion Mary Moser of Wyomissing.

“I knew I was going to do well because I did well yesterday (Friday),” Schaefer said. “It’s a hard race, so I’m happy.”

Chow was able to beat defending champion Harry Foster of York Suburban, winning in 47.47, which was also his seed time. However, getting the medal more than made up for not cutting time.

“I was hoping to go 46, but I felt real good in the water,” said Chow, who was in the 100 backstroke last year. “I was trying to get first place because that means a lot to me. There’s still states to come, and I can drop time there.”

A trio of swimmers also won silver besides Pucul and Frees. Wyomissing’s Zoe Sianis was second in the 100 breaststroke and Fleetwood’s Ryan Carey was runner-up in the 500 free. Taking thirds were Schuylkill Valley’s Eric Troutman in the 500 free, the Wyomissing girls 400 free relay and the Schuylkill Valley boys 400 free relay.

The top three in each event automatically qualified for the PIAA Championships, which are scheduled for March 14-15 at Bucknell University.